Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-04-14
AT AN ARMY POST.
A YOUNG LADY'S EXPERIENCE ON
THE MEXICAN FRONTIER.

pIative Burro-Dancing at a Fort.
When 1 first came down here, from long
and bitter experience, l flew to shut the acci-
dentally left open door, and somehow the
chair nearest the fireplace generally managed
to enfold me. But when no unpleasant
draught greeted my astonished self, and my
face grew uncomfortably warm in my cor
ner, it slowly dawned upon me that Texas
WIS u nlinois-a fact 1 had never wasted
much brain power in contemplating before
and when fresh Strawberries, pineapples and
vegetables appeared on the daintily laid table
of my charming hostess, 1 felt that the world
was TO longer hollow or my doll stuffed with
Sawsust
expected to find many strange and curl
Gus things here, but verify the half had not
been told. The streets are full of Mexicans
dressed in their own picturesque fashion, with
their bright colored serapes flung jauntily
over their shoulders and their broad brimmed
hats covered with silver tinsel aud no end of
cord and tassel. But the picturesqueness is
confined to the men. For the women wear
somber hued shawls drawn over their heads
and covering the lower parts of their faces.
l do not know why they take such precau
tions, for, as half of them have had smallpox,
their beauty is not of the startling or dazzling
order. They generally crouch in doorways
Or down in the very dust of the street when
they are at home in their own town of Paso
del Norte, but they bring their primitive
manners and customs with them when they
cross the river into the United States.
The hands and feet of even the commonest
Mexican are remarkably small, and such
marvelously high heels as they weari 1t gives
them simply no gait at all. A Mexican man
cannot walk, anyway. He shufles his feet
along and bends his knee at every step, until
if you watch him long, SO loosely jointed and
timber does he appear, you find yourself
wondering if his knees won't bend backward
with equal facility, and if his elbow is not
ball and socket joint.
LIFE AMONG THE GREAsERs.
was surprised to discover what a low poe
ton the Mexican holds socially. | am It'd
that a negro who marries Mexican woTIan
Immediately loses caste among his fellows,
and is henceforth ostracized.
The long bridge across the wandering,
capricious and strictly feminine Rio GraDde
connects two remarkable towns. Once ON the
other side, you seem to have stepped back
into the past a century or two. You find
adobe houses, surrounded by mud walls, in
stead of fences, and these walls surmounted
by hundreds of cactus plants in lieu of our
more modern if less effective barb wire.
1t is no uncommon sight to see a two
wheeled cart with each wheel hewn out of O
solid log. Their fuel is chiefly mesquite, the
wide spreading roots of a low, stunted tree,
and their wells are certainly unique. After
they strike water, instead of lowering a
bucket for it, they make an inclined plane
with steps in it, so that they can walk COM
fortably down into the well, fill their bucket
and climb out again, so it has been wittily
said that Mexico is a country where they dig
for wood and climb for water.
The natives always use burros for-carrying
this mesquite, and they trudge behind on
foot. There is something very pathetic
about the four footed inhabitants of Mexico
The sight of the pleading look in the eyes Of
a burro nearly makes me weep. He always
looks so downtrodden, so meek, so contem-
plative. Their ponies excite equal sympathy.
They wear their heads low-very low-and
they always have burrs in their tails To me
there is something appealing about a horse
with burrs in his tail, because 1 cannot i'm
agine high spirited horse, one who had an
atom of family pride or self respect, having
them there.
OF course thus far have only referred to
the lower class of Mexicans. The aristocracy
are very different. They pay more attention
to rank and caste than we do, and have ex-
qisite manners. A man may be a perfect
frute at home-he may even beat his wife
ijut in public his manners with both men and
women would put Lord Chesterfield to the
blush
DANCING AT A FORT.
There are Mexican troops stationed across
the river in Paso del Norte, and Fort Bliss,
about a quarter of a mile from this city, is
tie headquarters of the Tenth infantry; con-
sequently the officers exchange civilities quite
frequently. At the first of a series of hops
given at Fort Bliss all the Mexican officers
were invited but no one under the rank Of
major was allowed to attend. One poor little
senorita who was present was very pensive,
for hop room, and when | was asked the
cause l was told that she was engaged to the
captain ON her fathers staff and he was not of
sufficient rank to come. She did not look
over 12 years old, with her frock only reach
ing to the top of her tiny high-heeled, white
satin boots, but any age is considered mar
riageable in Mexico. l was particularly i'm
pressed with the charming manners of the
Mexican officers and grandees of Paso del
Norte that night. When one Of them, a
major, was introduced to me he bowed very
low and said: "A los pies de v, senorita,"
which is the usual charming salutation,
meaning "At your feet, senorita;" and in
duty bound l answered, "Beso a la mano,
caballero," which is the regulation retort,
meaning II kiss your hand, sir" But didn't
do it; that was only an idle threat. He
wished to dance with me, but didn't under
stand our plan of having hop cards, for at
their balls the first one who gets to girl
dances with her.
They have no introductions of any kind.
Every man is supposed to be gentleman and
every woman lady. and you mOrtally offend
a man if you refuse to dance with him So
when it was explained to him that my card
was full he meekly asked for the first extra,
and with very fiowery compliment, which
he did not in the least mean, but which hurt
neither one of us and was very pretty, he ex-
cused himself. As the programme was very
long we had no extras, and he came up almost
in tears to express his unavailing regret. One
would have thought nations fate depended
on that mans making me dizzy in one Of
their waltzes, for they never reverse. He
was very handsome and used his eyes in
most fetching manner but thought in all
probability he had wife and ten children
over in his adobe house. and the scene
changed. 1 enjoyed it hugely, but l should
think such extravaganza Of language might
become wearing.-El Paso Cor. Chicago
News.